1. HONORSOCIETY.ORG CHAPTER BYLAWS
ARTICLE I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be the [Greek Name of Chapter (i.e. Alpha)] Chapter of the
HonorSociety.org Honor Society, hereinafter referred to as the Chapter and the National Society.
ARTICLE II
MISSION AND PURPOSES
HonorSociety.org is a national honor society dedicated to recognizing and encouraging
excellence in scholarship, leadership and philanthropy. The mission is to build a community of
engaged leaders, and help members realize their highest potential through the advancement of
academics, leadership and networking. To accomplish this mission, Chapter shall
• promote scholarship and encourage intellectual development,
• confer distinction for high achievement,
• promote leadership development,
• stimulate student and faculty dialogue,
• enrich the intellectual environment of higher education institutions,
• encourage high standards of practice and ethical behavior,
• promote attitudes of professional responsibility for the public good,
• advocate for inclusiveness within the society and philanthropy towards the community,
• build a framework for success for its members, and
• showcase member talents.
ARTICLE III
MEMBERS
Section 1. Active Members. Student and professional members whose financial obligations to the
Chapter and to the National Society are paid and current are active members, with all privileges
of active membership, including the right to vote, hold office, serve on committees, and be elected
a delegate to Conclave.

2. A. Collegiate members shall be students enrolled in (associate degree, undergraduate degree or
graduate level degree) programs at the time of initiation.
1. Undergraduate students shall be enrolled at the university. National Society has three levels of
distinction for members based on student GPA; Honors, High Honors, and Highest Honors. GPA
standards for each distinction level are set by the National Society, and may be subject to
periodic update. Based on the society core value of inclusiveness, applicants may join the society
who have not been conferred a recognition status, but make a good-faith effort towards reaching
the aforementioned distinction levels.
2. Professional Members. Alumni of collegiate chapters shall be professional members. Others
meeting the following criteria may be elected to professional membership: (a) have made a
distinctive contribution to a profession, (b) seek to contribute to the goals and ideals of the
society, or (c) have been nominated for membership by a member or chapter.
Section 2. Nominations for Membership.
A. Nominations of collegiate members shall be made by the Chapter Advisory Council, National
Society, or members. Nominations of professional members serving a collegiate chapter shall be
made by the Chapter with the approval of the Chapter Advisory Council.
B. Chapters are eligible to nominate National Honorary Membership persons outside the
institution, excluding those who are employed in the institution, who have made distinctive
scholarly contributions.
Section 3. Election shall be by majority ballot vote.
Section 4. The membership process shall include an informational meeting, orientation session,
and initiation activities.
Section 5. Membership in Chapter is open to qualified candidates including persons with
disability, without regard to age, color, gender, national origin, race, religion, and/or sexual
orientation.

3. Section 6. Upon initiation, a member shall pay an initiation fee and national dues as established
by the National Society in order to maintain active membership, and local dues as established by
the Chapter.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of this chapter shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer, and Editor.
A chapter must have at least three elected officers representing the functions of President, Vice
President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor. The elected officers shall be the members of the
chapter Executive Committee.
Any elected officer of the Chapter may be removed for just cause. Sufficient cause for such
removal may be violation of the Chapter Bylaws or Society Constitution or any lawful rule,
practice, or procedure adopted by the Chapter or other conduct deemed to be prejudicial to the
best interest of the Chapter. For removal of an elected officer for cause, it shall be necessary for
the Chapter Executive Committee to hold a formal hearing. A statement of the charges shall be
sent by registered mail to the last recorded address of the officer, accompanied by notice of the
time and place of the meeting at which the charges are to be considered. At least thirty days
notice shall be given, and the officer shall have the opportunity to appear in person or to be
represented by counsel and to present any defense to such charges before action is taken. The
Chapter Executive Committee shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to assure due process
to the officer. Upon a two-thirds affirmative vote, the Chapter Executive Committee shall
recommend removal to the Society Board of Directors. The Society Board of Directors shall, by
majority vote, approve or reject the recommendation of the Chapter Executive Committee either
at the next meeting or through an electronic meeting.
Section 2. At the regular chapter meeting preceding the meeting at which the election of officers
is to be held, a nominating committee of three active members shall be elected. The chair shall
be a member of the Executive Committee (Article VII, Section 1), and at least one member shall
be a faculty member of the university. It shall be the duty of the committee to nominate
candidates for the offices to be filled at the regular meeting in February. Before the election,
additional nominations from the floor shall be permitted.
Section 3. The officers shall be elected by ballot to serve for one year or until their successors are
elected, and the term of office shall begin one month prior to the end of the previous academic
year (For example, if an officer is elected for the 2016-2017 academic term, and the previous

4. school year ends May 15, 2016, then the elected officers term would begin April 15, 2016.) This is
to ensure congruity and ample time to coordinate and plan for the next academic year.
Section 4. No member shall hold more than one office at a time, and no member shall be eligible
to serve more than two terms in the same office.
Section 5. Should the office of President become vacant, it shall be filled by the Vice President. A
vacancy in any other office shall be filled by the Executive Committee with the approval of the
Chapter Advisory Council.
ARTICLE V
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these Bylaws, the Constitution of
the National Society, and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Chapter, and shall fulfill
such other duties and requirements as may be determined by the National Society.
Section 2. A full chapter officer committee consists of 11 officer positions total, which are
articulated fully in Article IV in the National Society constitution. The 11 positions are: President,
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Event Programming Chair, Member Success Chair,
Philanthropy Chair, Public Relations Chair, Registrar, Faculty Relations Chair, and the Career
and Benefits Chair.
Section 3. The President shall have general supervision and direction of the officers of the
Chapter, shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and the Executive Committee, shall appoint
(with the approval of the Executive Committee and the Chapter Advisory Council) all chairs and
members of standing and special committees unless otherwise stated elsewhere in these Bylaws,
and shall be ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee. More duties
and details are articulated in Article IV, Section 1 in the National Society constitution.
Section 4. The Vice President shall have the powers of and perform the duties of the President
during any absence or disability of the President, shall be involved with the program committee,
and shall have such other duties as may be determined by the Executive Committee or the
President. More duties and details are articulated in Article IV, Section 2 in the National Society
constitution.

5. Section 5. The Secretary shall record the proceedings of all meetings, maintain all membership
records, attend promptly to all chapter correspondence, maintain adequate inventory of supplies
from the National Society, and have such other duties as may be determined by the Executive
Committee or the President. More duties and details are articulated in Article IV, Section 3 in the
National Society constitution.
Section 76. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all monies of the Chapter and shall serve as
chair of the finance committee. Accurate records of all transactions shall be kept. The National
Chapter Financial Report shall be filed by June 1. The Executive Committee shall be responsible
for causing the Treasurer's accounts to be audited annually. More duties and details are
articulated in Article IV, Section 4 in the National Society constitution.
Section 6. The Editor shall be responsible for assembling and submitting articles for publication
as requested by the National Society, and shall serve as chair of the publicity committee. More
duties and details are articulated in Article IV, Section 8 in the National Society constitution.
ARTICLE VI
MEETINGS
Section 1. Regular Meetings. The Executive Committee and Chapter Advisory Council shall
determine the number of regular meetings to be held during the year, and shall distribute a
schedule of these meetings to each active member.
Section 2. Special meetings can be called by the President or the Executive Committee and shall
be called upon the written request of five active members of the chapter. The purpose of the
meeting shall be stated in the call, and business shall be limited to that which is stated in the call.
Except in cases of emergency, at least three days' notice shall be given.
Section 3. Quorum. Those active members present shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VII
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the chapter.

6. Section 2. The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the chapter between its
business meetings, fix the hour and place of meetings, make recommendations to the chapter,
cause all reports required by the National Society to be submitted in a timely manner, and shall
perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws and the Constitution and rulings of the
National Society.
Section 3. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be called by the President or by any three
members of the committee.
ARTICLE VIII
CHAPTER ADVISORY COUNCIL
Section 1. The Chapter Advisory Council shall consist of two or more professional members, at
least one of whom shall be a member of the faculty.
Section 2. The Chapter Advisory Council shall assist the Chapter in fulfilling its Mission and
Purposes and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws and the
Constitution and rulings of the National Society.
ARTICLE IX
COMMITTEES
Chapter committees shall consist of the chair and at least two additional active members.
Standing committees shall be established by the Chapter. Special committees may be
established by the President, the Executive Committee, or the Chapter. The Standing
Committees of the Chapter shall be:
Section 1. The Publicity (Public Relations) Committee shall promote the National Society within
the university community. The Editor shall serve as chair.
Section 2. The Honors Event Committee shall cooperate with the university to arrange events to
recognize honor students. The Vice President shall serve as chair.
Section 3. The Initiation Committee shall make arrangements for initiation ceremonies. A member
of the Executive Committee shall serve as chair.

7. Section 4. The Program Committee shall select programs and make arrangements for meetings.
The Event Programming Chair shall serve as chair.
Section 5. The Finance Committee shall prepare the budget and make an annual analysis of
chapter fiscal management. The Treasurer shall serve as chair.
Section 6. The Bylaws Committee shall submit amendments to the Bylaws to provide for
changing chapter needs and to provide consistency with the National Society Constitution and
university policies for student organizations. The President shall serve as chair.
ARTICLE X
PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern
the Chapter in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with
these Bylaws, the Constitution of the National Society, and any special rules of order the Chapter
may adopt.
ARTICLE XI
AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
These Bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Chapter by a two-thirds vote, provided the
amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting or has been submitted
in writing to all active members of the Chapter at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which it
is to be considered. No amendment shall become effective until approved by the National
Society.
These Bylaws shall not be in conflict with the Constitution of the National Society. Any
amendment of the National Society Constitution affecting these Bylaws shall cause this document
to be amended automatically to concur with such amendment.
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